Fringe and Fortune: The Role of Critics in High and Popular ArtWhy does the distinction between high and popular art persist in spite of postmodernist predictions that it should vanish? Departing from the conventional view that such distinctions are class-related, Wesley Shrum concentrates instead on the way individuals form opinions about culture through the mediation of critics. He shows that it is the extent to which critics shape the reception of an art form that determines its place in the cultural hierarchy. Those who patronize "lowbrow" art--stand-up comedy, cabaret, movies, and popular music--do not heed critical opinions nearly as much as do those who patronize "highbrow" art--theater, opera, and classical music. Thus the role of critics is crucial to understanding the nature of cultural hierarchy and its persistence. Shrum supports his argument through an inquiry into the performing arts, focusing on the Edinburgh Fringe, the world's largest and most diverse art festival. |
Contents
A Critics New Clothes | 3 |
THE CRITIC | 23 |
Cultural Mediation and the Status Bargain | 25 |
Critics in the Performing Arts | 42 |
THE FRINGE | 61 |
Development of the Festival Fringe | 63 |
Festivals and the Modern Fringe | 83 |
Myth of the Fringe | 109 |
BEYOND THE FRINGE | 179 |
Beyond Formal Evaluation | 181 |
Discourse and Hierarchy | 193 |
EPILOGUE | 213 |
Review Genres | 215 |
Methodological Note | 218 |
Note on the Study of Mediation and Reception | 221 |
Tables | 223 |
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Fringe and Fortune: The Role of Critics in High and Popular Art Wesley Monroe Shrum Jr. Limited preview - 2021 |